Chapter 2

Bonnie woke up in the same position as the day before: curled on her side, with Damon spooning her from behind. She had briefly thought the previous day just a dream, but when she turned around and came face-to-face with Damon's sleeping form, she realized just how real it had all been. She almost pushed him off of her, but she instead let her eyes roam over his exposed chest and arms. He had always been beautiful, of course, with his dark hair and brilliant eyes, but with the muscle he had put on recently, he had reached a new plane of good-looking.

"See something you like, Bon-Bon?" he asked, without opening his eyes or letting her out of his grasp.

"I could have sworn we went to sleep on opposite sides of the bed. I didn't know you were such a snuggler."

"I guess my secret's out." He popped one eye open and the sun illuminated the color even more. "If you tell anyone, I'll kill you."

"Yeah, see, without fangs, that threat feels kind of empty."

Damon shrugged, conceding the point, and closed his eye again.

"I need to get up," Bonnie said, making a weak attempt to move.

"It's Sunday. Go back to sleep."

"I want to look on my computer and in my phone to figure out my life in this place."

"You can do that later. You're a good pillow. All soft and stuff."

He then nuzzled her closer and Bonnie couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm getting up," she said, although she rested her head on the pillow again and allowed him to hold her tighter.

"We're having a barbecue today. The whole Scooby-Doo gang is coming over. Stefan roped me into helping him grill," Damon said.

"Do you even know how to cook?"

"Woman, I've been on this planet for damn near two centuries. Of course I know how to cook. I could be a world-renowned chef if I wanted. And plus, every man should know how to grill, at the very least."

"Mmm," she hummed noncommittally.

They lay quietly for a few minutes, before Damon broke their silence with an unexpected command.

"You should kiss me," he said.

"And why would I do that?"

"Because, we're engaged and according to all sources, very affectionate with one another. It would probably look a little strange if we go from not being able to keep our hands off each other to not even kissing. You should probably kiss me now to get it out of the way. The faster we get our first kiss out of the way, the faster we can start tonguing each other down."

"Ha!" Bonnie laughed. "You're such a pervert. You're just trying to cop a feel on me."

"If I wanted to do that, I would."

And then he slid his hand down to her butt and gave it healthy squeeze. Bonnie reached behind her and smacked his hand.

"Don't make me kill you, Damon."

"You know, without your witchy juju, that threat feels kind of empty."

She smirked, and she knew he was smirking behind her.

"As much as I deeply enjoy sparring with you, I don't think we're quite ready for kissing yet. It's too..." She searched for the right word. "Intimate."

"Then what do you suggest we do? Shake hands?"

"No, we can do other things to show affection."

"Like?"

Bonnie turned around in his arms and was met with both eyes open. The fact that he looked so good first thing in the morning wasn't even fair.

"Like...holding hands," she offered. "Kissing on the cheek and forehead. Snuggling."

"All of which are intimate, but whatever makes you feel better, Judgey."

She rolled her eyes and squirmed out of his grasp. She stretched and then started her walk to the bathroom.

"Who told you to put on my pants?" Damon asked.

"If I hadn't, you'd see all my goodies."

"I love goodies!" he shouted as she shut the door.

Bonnie shook her head and went about her morning routine. She used the bathroom, brushed her teeth and combed hair out of her face. She started the shower running and while the water heated up, she looked at herself in the mirror. Before the whole debacle with bringing people back from the Other Side, Bonnie had been looking tired and haggard. The constant threat of death and magic and vampires and the supernatural had slowly but surely been wearing her down. Her eyes had dulled, her hair didn't shine and her shoulders slumped.

But as she stood in front of the mirror, she looked different. Happier. Lighter. Her eyes were green again. Her hair had bounce and sheen. Her body looked good.

Apparently, the Other Side had been good to her.

"Admiring the merchandise?" Damon asked, making Bonnie jump out of her skin.

"Damon!" she screamed, immediately trying to cover all the important parts with her hands and arms. "Get out!"

"Oh please," he waved a hand. "I'll tell you as I told your friend once. If you show me something I haven't seen before, I'll throw a dollar at it."

He flipped the lid on the toilet up and yanked his pants down. Bonnie sucked in her teeth and turned away from him before she could see any of this private area. She yanked a towel off the rack and covered her body and once he was finished with his business, she smacked him repeatedly on the back.

"Hey, ow, that hurts," he said.

"You are taking this whole thing a little too literally, aren't you?"

"Engaged people share the bathroom, you know."

"Yes, I'm sure they do, but nobody's in here inspecting our bathroom habits so we're not in danger of anyone finding out that we aren't all over each other every second of the day! God, I must be on crack in this universe to put up with you!"

Damon stared at her for a minute, then smiled. "You're cute when you're angry."

"Out."

He raised his hands in surrender and made a show of locking the door before he left. Bonnie groaned and reminded herself to ask Grams what the hell was wrong with her. She was still irritated when she got under the hot spray, but once that water beat down on her skin, her annoyance melted away. Damon's shower was absolutely heavenly and all her soaps and shampoo and conditioner were already in there, so she felt right at home. Before she knew it, she had been in there for thirty minutes. When she finally extracted herself, she went to the bedroom to get ready and was thankful that Damon was gone. She pulled her hair into a high damp ponytail and put one some shorts and a comfortable shirt. She gathered her phone and computer and headed downstairs.

Damon and Stefan were already prepping food for the barbecue, and there was fresh fruit laid out on the counter.

"Hey, Bon, good morning," Stefan said.

"Morning," she smiled. "Where's Elena?"

"Still in bed. Would you like some fruit? The cantaloupe is fresh and I know that's your favorite."

"Breakfast every morning? I could get used to this, Stefan. I may need to trade in my Salvatore for a newer model," she teased.

Stefan grinned and Damon smirked.

"You'd better stop before I get jealous, lover," he said with a wink.

"We wouldn't want that, would we, baby?" she asked as she loaded up her plate with fruit.

"We sure wouldn't, pumpkin."

They locked eyes and Bonnie knew that if she didn't stop him, they would end up having a war to determine who could come up with the most obnoxious name. As Damon was the king of being obnoxious, she was sure he would win.

"I'm going outside," she said. She tried to load her plate on top of her computer but was having a hard time with it, so Damon took her plate and opened the door to the backyard for her.

"Pumpkin?" Bonnie asked once the door was closed.

"You don't like it?"

"Sounds like something my dad would say, so no."

Bonnie stretched out on the outdoor furniture and got her computer set up, and Donnie handed her the fruit.

"Here you go, buttercup."

"You're not going to stop, are you?" she asked dryly.

"When I find the right one, I will." He leaned down to her so that their faces were only a couple of inches apart. "See, this would be the perfect time for a kiss. Your dutiful fiance bringing you breakfast deserves a kiss."

Bonnie leaned in like she was going to kiss him on the lips, then veered off and pressed her mouth to his cheek. He growled and kissed her cheek as well, leaving her alone in the backyard. For a moment, she just took in the beautiful greenery, perfect morning air and sweet fruit. Maybe Grams hadn't been crazy after all.

When she was finished with breakfast, she powered up her computer and searched her documents for any clue about her current life. She wanted to know what kinds of classes she was taking in school, what she did in her free time and the like. Her fingers moved tentatively over the keyboard and she realized she was slightly afraid that she might find something unsavory, like the sex tape Damon had.

She shuddered at the thought.

Her first line of business was checking her Facebook account, which she was sure would provide a quick and dirty outline of her life. Her login information was the same, and even though she knew she shouldn't have been, she was surprised when her main profile picture was one of her and Damon. It was a beautiful, artistic black-and-white photo. They were holding hands and engaged in a sweet kiss, and both of them were smiling.

Bonnie stared at the picture for a long time. It was one thing to hear that they were engaged and in love but to see proof of it shocked her all over again. In the entire time she had known Damon, she had never once considered him in a romantic way. Sure, he was hot. Devastatingly so. But he had always been so caught up on Katherine and Elena that the thought of him being interested in someone else was absurd. Especially her. But she couldn't deny that they looked good together. And happy. And perfect.

She finally shook herself from the haze and focused her attention on other areas of her page. She was in school, getting her Master's degree in English. She was devoting the summer to an internship at a small literary agency and in her free time, attempting to write the Great American Novel.

Once she finished getting the basic information about herself, she went through all of her photo albums. She smiled at the pictures of her, Carolina and Elena, but the overwhelming majority were of her and Damon: on trips, at sporting events, kissing, hugging, smiling. Before she knew it, she had spent two hours looking at their pictures. She eventually meandered to his page and found several posts that they made to each other, each more affectionate than the last.

She became distracted when Damon, Stefan and Elena slid the backdoor open and came out, carrying tons of food for the grill. Bonnie couldn't help but stare at Damon a little bit, wondering if she could ever feel about him the way the pictures indicated that she did. He sensed her staring and he winked at her.

"Hey, Bon," Elena greeted, plopping down next to her friend. "Working on your book?"

"Uh, no, just surfing Facebook. And I got sucked into it, of course."

"God, I know. i have to steer clear of it unless I have the entire day free. I hope you're ready to talk wedding plans. Caroline's bringing a binder of ideas."

"Oh, great."

They both laughed and the conversation drifted to other things. Normal things like movies, fashion and gossip. It was so nice to talk about regular stuff, and it was nice to have her friend back.

The boys started grilling and other friends began to filter in. Caroline, then Matt, then Jeremy. It was strange to see Jeremy and know that they weren't together, even though he still gave her the googly eyes. They set up a volleyball net and Bonnie had a great time playing and letting loose. When the food was finally ready, they all gathered around the big outdoor table and Bonnie helped with getting the food and drinks spread out. She was about to put a hamburger together, when Damon stopped her.

"Uh, uh, uh," he said, presenting her with a burger that had already been prepared. "This one's for you."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Did you poison it or something?"

"Funny. No. I just made it how you like it."

"How do you know how I like my burger?" she inquired.

"Well I have known you for five years. I've taken notice of what you like and don't like."

"Really?" she asked with a scrunched up nose. "I never thought you paid that much attention to me."

"Well, as usual, you would be wrong, little bird." He tapped her nose and then went about the business of making his plate.

Bonnie was still eyeing him warily when she sat down and took a bite of her burger. It was cooked to perfection, with just the right about of barbecue sauce and condiments and she couldn't help but wonder who this Damon was and why had never shown himself in their real world. He sat down next to her and smiled like he knew she was enjoying it, and she confirmed it by bumping her shoulder on his.

"Thank you," she said genuinely.

"You're welcome."

They joined the others in conversation and when dinner was finished, someone broke out the football and an intense game of touch football followed. They played until the sun went down, then gathered around the firepit and sipped on beers and wine. Stefan and Elena sat together, as did Matt and Caroline. Jeremy sat on a cooler, which left a tight little space for Bonnie and Damon. He sat down and held out his hand for her, and she slid onto his lap, astounded by how easy it was to fall into this act...especially after a couple of beers. The longer they sat like that, the more comfortable she became until she was curled up on his chest, asleep.

She awoke to the feeling of Damon pushing hair out of her face and tucking it behind her ear.

"Rise and shine, snookums."

"Ugh, you're horrible at these names," she told him.

"Come on. Let's go up to bed."

Bonnie didn't argue and she didn't even pull away when he took her hand and said good night to everyone. They held hands silently all the way up to his room and once they were inside, he went to the bathroom to shower. Bonnie changed clothes and slipped into his bed, then stayed awake until he returned. He turned off the lights and got in on his side. They didn't say anything for a while, then Bonnie spoke up.

"Today was fun," she said.

"Mm hm."

"You're fun, when you're not being a douche bag."

"Aw, honey, you know just what to say to me. You're fun, too, when you're not being a judgmental little goody two-shoes."

"So sweet."

"Good night, Bennett."

She heard him turn away from her and she tried to fall back asleep, but something was on her mind. She was hesitant to say it, but she was talking before she could stop herself.

"Are you still taking suggestions for a good pet name?" she asked into the dark.

"Mm hm."

She paused for a moment, contemplating whether she should tell him, then she said, "I like it when you call me Little Bird," she admitted quietly.

Damon didn't respond immediately, and Bonnie was irrationally nervous about his reaction. She worried that he would tease her or be sarcastic, which she knew was crazy because that's how they talked to each other. But something about admitting that she liked the name made her feel vulnerable. She almost took it back until Damon finally answered.

"Little Bird it is, then."